Tripod & Monopod Heads

Really Right Stuff Ballheads

Really Right Stuff designs and manufactures professional grade tripod ballheads that can support heavy loads, lock solidly, and move smoothly. All of our ballheads are faster to use and inherently more stable than 3-axis “pan-tilt” tripod heads. Tripods with ballheads are also much easier to carry and pack than tripods with pan-tilt heads—no long, protruding handles.

A Really Right Stuff ballhead will help you learn to love your tripod. Aiming and horizon leveling can be accomplished as one instinctive motion, and rigid lockup takes just a quick twist of one control. Our full-size and mid-size ballheads also offer variable “drag” (tension) that makes them easy to control.

The Really Right Stuff quick-release system offers implicit advantages, and all Really Right Stuff ballheads can be purchased with our quick-release clamps already installed. We offer four sizes of ballheads: full-sized, mid-sized, compact, and ultra-light. We also offer a variety of different clamp styles to meet the needs of all shooters.

FULL SIZE BH-55 BALLHEAD

The BH‑55 is the culmination of years of iterative development based on first-hand experience and abundant input from seasoned professionals and enthusiasts. Our goal was to build the perfect general-purpose ballhead. Our premise was that aesthetics needn’t play second fiddle to functionality, that operation should be intuitive and predictable, and that your investment should be rewarded with years of satisfaction.

Extensive field use has proven the utility of our innovative design. The BH‑55 delivers solid performance in all weather and temperature ranges. Its low profile, precision control knobs, rugged housing, and state of the art quick-release clamps make our BH-55 the ballhead of choice for both seasoned professionals and enthusiastic amateurs. Renowned photographers who make their living using our ballhead include George Lepp, John Shaw, Peter Lik, Marc Muench, Moose Peterson, Norbert Wu, Joe and Mary Ann McDonald, Frans Lanting, Kennan Ward, Adam Jones and Doug Gardner, Scott Kelby, and many, many others.

BH-40 MID-SIZED BALLHEAD

The BH‑40 is as lightweight and compact as possible without sacrificing any of the functionality that makes our full-size BH‑55 the favorite ballhead of discriminating professional and avid photographers worldwide. Our bestselling BH‑40 LR is just a tad over 1 pound (479g). It is perfect as a traveling/backpacking head for popular light to mid-sized gear such as 70200mm/f2.8 and 300mm/f4 lenses, yet even robust enough for occasional use with full-sized 500mm/f4 lenses. At only 3" high, the BH‑40 LR is the most compact ballhead in its class but delivers large-size performance and features. It perfectly complements Really Right Stuff Versa® Series 1 & 2 tripods (or Gitzo Series-1 and -2 tripods).

The BH-40 main lock lever is longer on one end, and its shape makes it easy to crank down and apply enough torque to solidly lock the ball under any load; T‑lever freely clears tripod platforms with diameters smaller than 2.7‑inches (68mm). If mounted on wider platforms, lever can be easily re-positioned or "ratcheted" to lock or release.

See why Scott Kelby, of Kelby Training®, fell in love with his BH‑40 and called it “…the ballhead of the gods.”

BH-30 COMPACT BALLHEAD

The BH‑30 is a no nonsense head with robust capacity, but with minimal weight and elegant simplicity. It excels as a ground-level macro tool, but also as a super light head for backpacking, travel, and table top use. This ballhead has a beefy T‑lever to lock ball articulation and an independent pan lock to control the panning base.

BH-25 ULTRA-LIGHT BALLHEAD

The BH‑25 is a the perfect head when light-weight and simplicity are top priorities. Its single locking knob locks both ball articulation and panning simultaneously. It is robust enough for short telephotos, yet weighs less than 8 ounces.